Paper, paint, and metal foil

This essay concerns itself with the category of the costumed entry at the Leiden rhetoricians’ festival of 1596. The entry by the Haarlem chamber of rhetoric The Pelican was designed by Hendrick Goltzius. It is argued that inventions like Goltzius’s were considered examples of good or best practice from which other artists and craftsmen involved in entry-making could learn, both during and after the event. The latter purpose was served by the printed festival book, which contained information on both invention (iconography) and execution (materials and techniques) of the entry characters. The use of such festival books is further corroborated by an analysis of the book collection of the Pelican chamber, which has survived more or less complete.